THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN

Hey comic book fans! Did you know that this film inspired Scottish writer, Grant Morrison, to create the 'Batman Incorporated' ongoing series? God only knows why though. Maybe it had something to do with the Director: Joseph McGrath; and Actors; Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Monty Python, The Beatles, Richard Attenborough, Raquel Welch, and some of the Carry On crew too. But only for 92-minutes in 1969 of course.

Now I'm nigh on positive that it doesn't have anything to
do with Guy sacking his employees and then dumping them in parts unknown.
Moreover, I am fairly sure that it's not associated with hot-dog's, shooting
pigeons out of the sky with a tank, a boxing match were two of the competitors
kiss each other, or Guy's sisters either.

However, I have a pretty good idea that their adventure is
all to do with cash. You see, Guy does bribe a traffic warden (Spike Milligan)
to eat a ticked that he recently issued him. Then he pays off a director at Sotheby's
Auction house (John Cleese) after defacing a painting he purchased. Oh! And I
best not forget to mention about how Guy fixes a boat race by bribing one of
the teams involved (including Graham Chapman and Richard Attenborough).

Hey! Wait a minute! Boat's! That's it! Guys and Youngman's
adventure together all comes to a head when they step on board the luxury
cruise liner called 'The Magic Christian'. As pomposity goes all floppy - Yul Brynner
goes all soppy - Christopher Lee and Raquel Welch both take a bite - and at the
end of the day businessmen can't help but swim in sh*te.

Well, if you want it, here it is....

THE REVIEW:

Now what can I say about 'The Magic Christian' that won't upset anyone who's enamored by any of the actors in this piece? Well, I am
such a person you see. A fan. A very big fan who has always loved the works of
people such as Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, the Beatles, Monty Python, and
generally any of the stars starring in this movie.

Wait a minute. I know what I will do before I get to my
summation, let's have some filmic facts first, OK? (1) The film was based on a
novel written by Terry Southern, and was one of the main reasons why famed film
director, Stanley Kubrick, wanted to collaborate with him on the cold-war
satire 'Dr Strangelove' [click here for the review]. (2) 'Youngman' was not in
the original 1959 novel. This character was used to re-elaboration of 'Guys'
earlier exploits. Also, it was set in America
too -- not England.
(3) The theme tune for this flick, 'Come And Get It', was written by Paul
McCartney, and performed by the Welsh Rock band 'Bandfinger'. (4) Peter
Seller's wanted to leave this picture after the first day of filming, because
he felt his performance in it was very bad indeed. He was eventually persuaded
otherwise though. (5) This was the first time soon to be 'Python', Graham
Chapman, performed in front of a film camera. Unfortunately, it was the last
time for Alfred Hitchcock stalwart, Isabel Jeans. (6) John Lennon was
originally meant to play the role of 'Youngman' in this movie. But when he was
arrested on drugs charges, his part then went to his fellow Beatle, Ringo
Starr, because he was the only member of the band that got a favorable mention
in their film 'A Hard Days Night' [click here for the review]. Plus, on a side
note, it wasn't John and Yoko in the final scene either -- for similar reasons.
(7) Whilst making this flick, Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan made a personal
documentary about Peter called 'Will The Real Peter Sellers Please Stand Up?'
[click here for the review]. (8) John Cleese and Graham Chapman wrote
an early version of the script -- later they were joined by Terry Southern and
Peter Sellers -- in which the only scenes of theirs that remained are those two they were in. (9) Peter Sellers wanted the final 'vat of manure' scene to be
recorded by the side of the Statue of Liberty. But they didn't. The financiers
did not want to pay for the additional expense, even though they had the
permission to do it. (10) Ringo Starr bought Peter Sellers' house in Brookfield
off of him whilst making this film. He paid £70,000 for it, although Peter
recently paid £50,000 for doing it up, and John Lennon offered him £150,000.
(11) The following 'Python' scene was supposed to be in this movie -- entitled
'The Mouse Problem' -- but it was rejected by Peter Sellers.

OK, so now that I have all of that off of my chest, I now know how
should tackle this 'Magic Christian' review. I have to be like an archaeologist. Someone who can appreciate this film for what it is and not what its not.

You see, it's not a conventional film with a normal
conventional story-line. No way Jose. In many ways it's a mixture of movies like
'The Magical Mystery Tour', 'There's A Girl In My Soup', and 'Austin Powers'
(click on links for the reviews), all rolled into one, with a rather sixties slanted message
thrown in for good measure -- what would you do for money?

Granted. It is a very valid message. And and does have a relevance in any day and age. In addition to this, this question does make you think about what you would do if you were in the situations that Guy and Youngman presents to their unsuspected victims with.

However, it pains me to say that this 'message' does get
kind of jumbled up within the scheme of things. And you can not help but just
see it for what it should have been all along -- a sketch movie.

Yep. This film should have been divided into chapters and
displayed as such. As a whole, it is rather lop-sided to say the least --
with the two main protagonists going from place to place at a drop of a hat.
But individual each scene plays out very well on its own merits -- having that
very sixties vibe that I really do dig.

For example: (1) My favorite scene in this film was the one
between the two Goon's, Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan. You could tell
straight away that the old magic was still there for them both, no doubt about
it. (2) Although it wasn't the most dynamic part of this adventure, it was a
blast to see Peter, Ringo, and John Cleese, all in the same frame together. (3) Yul Brynner,
Christopher Lee, and Raquel Welch, were just brilliant in this film. The phrase
'small sharp shock' springs to mind when I think about them, ha! (4) The
'Badfinger' song, 'Come And Get It', has been playing around in my head since it
first jumped out of the screen and into my ears. It sure is catchy.

Overall 'The Magic Christian' is a film any British movie
historian has to see at least once in their life. No plot. Sure. But it is well
worth the watch for the actors concerned. Agreed, chaps?

Sponsored by Where You Watch. The movie community reporting and updating you on movie announcements, news, downloads and streams. From blockbuster movies like Star Wars: The Last Jedi to indie darlings such as The Disaster Artist.